Gendalo-Gehem

Gendalo-Gehem Oil and Gas Field Profile

Location

The Gendalo-Gehem oil and gas fields are located offshore in the East Kalimantan Province of Indonesia, within the Kutai Basin. Specifically, the fields are situated in the Makassar Strait, with the Gendalo field approximately 80km south-east of the Chevron-owned Santan Terminal, and the Gehem field roughly 150km south-east of the same terminal.

Discovery and Appraisal

• The Gendalo field was discovered in February 2000 with the drilling of the Gendalo-1 exploration well at a water depth of 1,425 meters and a total depth of 4,572 meters.
• The Gendalo field was appraised by drilling the Gendalo-3 well in March 2002, which flowed at a daily rate of 30 million cubic feet (mmcf) of gas and 2,200 barrels of condensate during drill-stem testing (DST).
• The Gehem field was discovered in July 2003 with the drilling of the Gehem-1 well at a water depth of 1,823 meters and a total vertical depth of 4,645 meters. The well encountered 188 meters of net gas and gas-condensate pay and 5 meters of net oil pay.
• Further appraisal of the Gehem field was conducted with the Gehem-2 and Gehem-3 appraisal wells, confirming significant gas and condensate reserves.

Reserves

• The Gendalo and Gehem fields are estimated to hold substantial natural gas reserves. The Gendalo field has potential recoverable natural gas resources of approximately 882.45 billion cubic feet (bcf), while the Gehem field has around 697.99 bcf.
• Combined with neighboring fields like Maha and Gendang, the total recoverable reserves are estimated to be around 4 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas.

Development Plan

• The development of the Gendalo-Gehem project involves the use of floating production and offloading (FPO) vessels. Chevron and Eni selected the FPO concept due to the fields' remote locations from onshore facilities.
• The project proposes two separate hubs, each equipped with an FPU, subsea drill centers, natural gas and condensate pipelines, and an onshore receiving complex. The Gendalo FPO will have a treatment capacity of 420 million cubic feet per day (cf/d) of gas and 30,000 barrels per day (b/d) of condensate, while the Gehem FPO will have a capacity of 700 million cf/d of gas and 25,000 b/d of condensate.
• The gas and condensate will be treated and exported via subsea pipelines to the Santan Terminal.

Ownership and Operator

• Chevron is the operator of the Gendalo-Gehem project with an 80% interest, while Eni holds a 20% interest. The Indonesian government, through Pertamina, has a 10% provision share that it can exercise at any time.

Project Status

• The project is currently in the development phase. After an initial failed bid for the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract in 2013, Chevron and Eni re-qualified contractors in 2024, with a new team led by Toyo Engineering Company, supported by Cosco Shipyard and Meindo Elang Indah.
• Front-end engineering and design (FEED) work was completed by Technip and WorleyParsons in 2012.
• Production is expected to start around 2027, with the project designated as a National Strategic Project by the Indonesian government.

Production Capacity

• The designed maximum production capacity for the Gendalo-Gehem project is 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 47,000 barrels of condensate per day.

Contractors and Consultants

• Key contractors include Toyo Engineering Company, Cosco Shipyard, and Meindo Elang Indah. Technip and WorleyParsons have been involved in the FEED and subsea scope, respectively.

Challenges and Considerations

• The project faces significant technical challenges due to its deepwater location, with water depths of up to 1,829 meters. It is considered one of the deepest projects of its size in Indonesia.
• The project's viability and capital requirements are under review, with ongoing studies to explore alternatives that can reduce capital expenditures and improve project viability.